BIO : Sara Diamond
Dr. Sara Diamond was OCAD University’s President and Vice-Chancellor for 15 years with her tenure ending on June 30, 2020.
A visionary leader, Dr. Diamond led OCAD University to retain and expand its traditional strengths in art and design while transforming it to become a leader in graduate education, research and digital media.
Diamond’s new media art practice began in creative neural network design, information visualization, “software art”, collaborative performance and wearable art through CodeZebraOS project as early as the 1997. Before that time she was an internationally recognized artist in experimental media, video art and interdisciplinary cultural expression, with major exhibitions such as a solo show at the Vancouver Art Gallery, a retrospective at National Gallery of Canada, Bienale of Sydney, Museum of Modern Art, NYC, etc. (1980-2005). She has curated large-scale new media exhibitions around the world. Diamond has curated significant exhibitions over many years, for example, video art and documentary at VIVO, Vancouver, new media shows at the Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff; international exhibitions at the Millennium Museum in Beijing and was elected as President of the International Jury of the Dak’Art Biennial of African Art.
Until 2019, Diamond was Canada’s only openly lesbian university or college president. During her early arts and documentary career she produced works about lesbian, gay and feminist issues and curated exhibitions, symposia, and educational events. In 1986 she received an award from the gay and lesbian community in recognition of her “outstanding contribution”.
Diamond created the Banff New Media archives at The Banff Centre, working closely with Susan Kennard and Dr. Sarah Cook and the National Archives. This online and physical archive is a deep repository of the history of global new media/digital developments from 1995 – 2010, a decade of transformation. The publication Euphoria/Dystopia, the Banff New Media Institute draws from this archive. VIVO (Video In/Video Out) and Simon Fraser University are currently organizing Diamond’s personal and production company archives which document women and work in British Columbia, social movements in Western Canada, her own artistic, research and activist practice. Components of the archives are available online and the archives are now available for on-site use. http://www.vivomediaarts.com/archive/sara-diamond/